BOXING
Fury apparently to retire
Tyson Fury’s boxing career could be over after the former world heavyweight champion on Wednesday said he would not reapply for a license to fight from the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBOC). The 29-year-old, who has a 25-0 record, became World Boxing Association (super), International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Organization and International Boxing Organization world champion when he beat Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, but has not fought since. His license was withdrawn “pending further investigation” by the BBBOC in October last year. He was also charged with a rule violation by UK Anti-Doping after a urine sample from February 2015 showed traces of the banned stimulant nandrolone. He has denied any wrongdoing. “After thinking long and hard about my return, I will not be applying for a BBBOC boxing license. After the way they have handled stuff. No thanks,” the Briton wrote on Twitter.
CYCLING
Moscon in trouble again
Gianni Moscon of Team Sky was on Wednesday again in the spotlight for the wrong reasons after a rival cyclist accused him of purposefully causing a fall in which he broke his elbow. Switzerland’s Sebastien Reichenbach said the 23-year-old Italian pushed him to the ground in the early part of a race in Italy on Tuesday. “A complaint has been filed,” Reichenbach’s FDJ team manager Marc Madiot told reporters. Moscon was suspended by Sky for six weeks in May after racially insulting Reichenbach’s teammate Kevin Reza on the Tour de Romandie. Reichenbach publicly expressed outrage at the time. Moscon sent his best wishes to Reichenbach after Tuesday’s race, saying on Twitter that he was sorry and wishing him a quick recovery. However, in Wednesday’s edition of Swiss newspaper Le Nouvelliste, Reichenbach, who according to his team is likely to be sidelined for three to four months, appeared in no mood to accept the apology. “Many riders saw the incident and are ready to testify in my favor. It was a deliberate push,” Reichenbach said.
FOOTBALL
Newton slammed for sexism
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton on Wednesday faced mounting criticism after making a sexist comment to a female reporter during a news conference. Newton landed in hot water after remarking that it was “funny to hear a female” ask a question about route running. The Panthers star smirked after Jourdan Rodrigue, a reporter for the Charlotte Observer, asked about receiver Devin Funchess’ ability to run physically demanding routes. “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes like — it’s funny,” 28-year-old Newton said before discussing Funchess’ development with the team. However, Rodrigue criticized Newton’s reply on social media. “I don’t think it’s ‘funny’ to be a female and talk about routes. I think it’s my job,” Rodrigue wrote on Twitter. Rodrigue also revealed that she spoke with Newton in private after the news conference and was unhappy with his response. “I spoke with him after and it was worse,” she wrote. “I chose not to share, because I have an actual job to do today and one he will not keep me from.”
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier